A Red Noble
by besyd101
Summary: Red comes to Nottingham to be with her Grandmother who has fallen ill. Trying to keep her grandmother in good health, she also has many encounters with the band of outlaws and may be falling for the blue-eyed Allan A Dale. I'm terrible with summaries, just try it.
1. Chapter 1 This is an Ambush

**If you want to see what Red looks like, go to my profile. Please review! Thanx**

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Red sat in her overly cushioned carriage, eagerly waiting to arrive in Nottingham. They were taking a path through a forest called Sherwood Forest. It was long and endless but the forest was much better to look at then a hundred miles worth of houses to see.

She wouldn't say she'd choice to move to Nottingham but her Grandmother, who she hadn't seen since she was six, had fallen ill and could use all the help she could get.

Her Grandmother, who Red had taken to refer her as Granny, was a very affluent noble woman. Red was wealthy, her father being a Lord, but her Granny was beyond compare with wealth. Red would help her Granny not expecting anything in return, but Red's father was hoping that after she passes, she may leave something for Red.

Red felt the carriage come to a stop. She peeked out the window to see if they had arrived, only to find that they were still in the forest. She tried to see what was going on although failing because of the angle of the window. A guard opened the door.

"What is going on?" questioned Red trying to see behind him.

"Stay in here, Mi'lady. It is nothing." The guard said but Red ignored him brushing past him through the door.

When Red made an appearance she saw six men all standing before her own eyes. Two held bows pointed at her guards while the others held their own weapons by their side excluding a rather large man pointing a staff at her lead guard.

"This is an ambush." said the one of the men who held the bow which Red presumed was the leader. He was remarkably handsome, noted Red. Red noticed none of the bandits seemed to see her and she took advantage of it for a moment.

"Who's carriage is this anyway?" said the other bow holder that Red noticed was remarkably handsome.

"Duke Andrew of Chariot Hills' daughter, Lady Ruby." One guard named Alexander said.

"What puts you in the position to steal from our Lady?" said another named Stephen who, Red knew, always said the wrong things at the wrong times.

"Uh not bein' funny but look at what side of the bow you're on," said the second bow holder.

"You won't get anything!" cried Stephen. Red stepped in now.

"Enough. If they want jewels, they may have jewels." Red said sternly and yet softly as the outlaws noticed her. She pulled her red hood down so it didn't mask her face. The outlaws didn't miss they striking beauty that she held. She had straight, light brown hair that fell over her shoulders and fairly tanned skin. She had big, deep, brown eyes that seemed to be captivating everything.

"Are you Lady Ruby?" asked the leader breaking the silent moment.

"I am." she stated. He nodded to his right at the other bow holder. The bow holder lowered his bow before walking over to her. He gave a smirk, seeing how uncomfortable she seemed to be. She swallowed hard before turning to her side where she dug for her red pouch before handing it to him.

He stared intently at her as she avoided eye contact best she could. He had deep blue eyes that she was aware were watching her every moment. She wasn't used to this, she'd never been held up by bandits before.

"I believe there is more in my carriage." she stated as she handed him her bracelet. The leader nodded to the two men next to him to rummage through the carriage.

"Note to self: never travel with valuables again." Red mumbled and the blue-eyed bandit in front of her snickered.

"Now see gentlemen, and Lady, that if you cooperate nicely as you just have, no one gets hurt." said the leader as the two come back holding arm's full of valuables. The leader and his men started to retreat. The blue-eyed bandit lingered a moment more giving her another smirk before retreating also.

She let out a deep sigh. That was exciting and yet terrifying at the same time. She got back into the carriage and they continued their trip to Nottingham.


	2. Chapter 2 To Granny's House We Go

Red felt the carriage come to an abrupt halt. She looked out the window to see they had finally arrived at her Grandmother's house. It was a two-story house, had an old, cottage look to it. It was tan in color and all the windows seemed to be open wide. Red could already tell, this wasn't just a house, it was a home.

Not waiting for her guards to help her, she opened the door and quickly got out. It didn't seem to surprise the guards, they were used to her doing this. She just hated acting like she was helpless and they respected that.

She straightened her back and smoothed her red skirt out. She nodded at the guards to get her luggage. She moved towards the door and paused. Here goes nothing, she thought. She knocked and waited for someone to come. All she heard was an old, raspy voice.

"Don't do that whole formal stuff and just come on in!" Red couldn't help but smile. Seems to have a mind of her own, Red thought. She gently turned the handle and stepped in. She held the door for Stephen who was carrying both of her bags.

"Ah, Ruby it's been so long!" exclaimed Granny. Red smiled as she slowly made her way in front of Granny.

Granny looked to be around 70. She had hazel green eyes and curly white hair. She had a scar over her right eye. The woman had a very amused grin showing across her face.

"Actually, I go by Red now, Granny." Red said giving the elderly woman a hug.

"Red? That is a silly name. Your father gave you it, didn't he? That man, I swear." Granny said pulling out of the hug. Red laughed.

"It's a nickname, Granny." Granny started to laughed which ended in a fit of coughs. Red, not knowing what to do, put her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything? Maybe a medicine?" Red questioned, concern etching in her features. Granny waved her hand at her.

"I'm fine. Jeez, you act like you've never seen anyone cough before. I just need some rest." Granny pushed off the chair, balanced herself, and brushed past Red. Red's eyes followed her, making sure she was okay. Granny stopped when she was halfway to her room and turned around.

"Oh yes, one more thing. Your room is the upstairs."

"Uh, the whole upstairs?" Red asked.

"I can't get up there anymore, now can I?" Granny said, giving Red a wink. "Night." Granny turned back and continued to her room.

Red heard the door close and waited a couple moments. This is...different, she thought. Deciding to look around, she carefully inspected everything. She noticed that her grandmother liked to read, like her. She found books in almost every room. Red found certain sentimental things like an old sock puppet that she assumed used to be her father's.

The last thing she looked at was the kitchen. It looked as if it had never been used. Red was surprised, that was the one thing that Red used the most: the kitchen. She slide her hand across the wooden counter as she strolled around it, imagining that she was cooking in it. It was beautiful, she thought.

Then Red got an idea. If her grandmother was ill, maybe she could make some kind of medicine to give her. Her grandmother was stubborn, though. Perhaps she could trick her, making it with food or something?

Red reached to her backside and took a black pouch that she had hidden away from the outlaws. She was smart enough to know that'd she could get away with some money if she cooperated rather than refusing, which would have resulted in not even one shilling.

Surely there was enough in the pouch for some sort of medicine. Hurriedly, she runs to the door where Stephen cuts in. "Where are you going, Milady?"

"Take the rest of the day off," she says, opening the door. She feels the sun's brilliant heat on her skin and turns back to Stephen.

"Oh, and take this with you," she commands, taking off her red cloak and handing it to him. She gives him a light smile before running towards the market.

When she gets there, she can see that the atmosphere is anything but happy. In almost every face, sadness seemed to have taken its toll on them. Their eyes were so full of emotion, Red couldn't even make herself make eye contact.

Red walked through the market, surveying everything. She couldn't find any medicines, only fruits and vegetables. It seemed to her that it was all they had. It was at that time that a blonde girl, about Red's age, bumps into her.

"Oh sorry," says the girl, smiling.

"It's fine," Red replies, returning her smile.

The girl was rather beautiful with short, blond that hair that was streaked with a few brown highlights and was also brushed perfectly straight. She had blue eyes that weren't as bright and deep as the outlaw before but seemed to show how generally kind the girl was.

"I'm Lolly. Lolly Gold." she says, sticking out her hand.

"Lolly?" Red questioned still holding her smile.

"Well, short for Lilac. I know, it's silly."

"Red," Red replies, taking Lolly's hand and shaking it.

"And you made fun of my name?" teases Lolly. Red chuckles. "So what are you looking for?" asks Lolly, who gestures to the whole market.

"My Granny is...well, falling ill and needs a cure," Red explains as Lolly picks up three tomatoes and tosses it in her basket.

"I'm sorry. What does she have?"

"If only I knew," sighs Red.

"Hmm..." Lolly contemplates this for a couple moments before her eyes go wide with an idea. "Have you tried the well?"

"What well," Red asks, not looking up from the selection.

"The well in Sherwood Forest! It is said to have healing powers-heals the sick!" Red looks up-fascinated.

"Does it work?" Red asked in awe.

"I don't know," Lolly admits. "But I do know my uncle said that when my aunt was sick, he'd used to get water from the well every day and sooner than later, she was cured!" Lolly gave out a satisfied laugh.

"That's interesting." Red comments, deep in thought. "Where would I find this...um, well?" Lolly shrugs.

"Somewhere in Sherwood Forest. Sorry I can't help more."

"No, no. That's alright. I'll find it, don't worry."


	3. Chapter 3 A Walk in the Woods

_**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update but each time I did this chapter I wasn't happy with it. Still am not but I hope you guys like it! I promise Chapter 4 will be better and I'll try to update it quickly but it might be hard since school started picking up(the homework this year is overloading!). But I'll try my best. Please review!**_

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Red let out the biggest sigh she could manage, staring out the window from where she laid- sideways on her bed. She finally persuaded herself to sit up and get ready-the night was already breaking into morning.

She wore a red dress, as always. It wasn't too special. The fabric was obviously velvet, and a tiny thread was hanging loose from the top of which, it was laced. It wasn't much to look at, but what would she care? If anyone were too see her, it'd be the bandits.

The thought of the bandits, brought her to the idea she had yesterday. She took off the only jewelry she had-a necklace that Stephen had somehow managed to hide from the outlaws. Red finished by messily braiding her hair and putting on her signature red cloak.

She galloped down the stairs, forgetting that her grandmother was asleep until the last step. She paused all her movement and listened. Silence. Good, she thought as she ushered herself to the kitchen.

She found a water container and she began to leave but decided to carry it in a basket. That way, if her grandmother was up when she got back, it would look like she went to the market instead. She located a small, woven basket that held bread. She dumped most of it on the counter until there was enough for the container. Now she was ready.

She barely opened the front door and peeked out, making sure Stephen and the other guards were gone. They were. Where do they go anyway, she wondered as she opened the door enough for her to get past.

Once she was in the forest, she took a moment to marvel at her surroundings. For once, she had actually went into a forest without a ton of guards surrounding her. It was a different feeling, independence. One that she desperately wanted to keep.

This forest was a lot greener than the one back in Scotland. Of course, she never visited the one back home much (seeing as it wasn't exactly relaxing), but she could still see the difference in color.

She walked about ten feet (no pathway so finding the well could take forever) before hearing the snap of a twig behind her. Bandits.

She stopped moving, but didn't turn around to see who it was. She just simply said, "I don't have any valuables with me if that is what you intended on getting."

"Good thing I wasn't planning on stealin' from ya' then," the voice replied with a snicker. She slowly turned to face her company who, no doubt, was the blue-eyed outlaw from the day before.

She became nervous again when she saw he was not intending on leaving so soon. It was odd to her, how as soon as she arrived she had been going from coming off as very strong then turning into an uncomfortable hesitance. She always considered herself to be rather calm and strong but she wasn't so sure anymore. Yesterday, during the raid all she kept thinking while the bandit was staring her down was that he saw right through her plan.

He took a couple of paces until he was standing face to face with her. She tried to do everything she could to not run away. She was not going to appear scared. Instead, she took a giant step backward and turned to walk away.

"Oh yes, I remember you. You are that girl we stole from yesterday. Sorry we had to take everything," he said, feeling rather smug. She decided it best not to tell how she had gotten away with some of the jewels.

"Yes, unfortunate indeed. However, don't you have someone else to rob blind today?" she asks as calmly as possible.

"Nope. It's my day off." he says, walking in unison beside her.

"And you use the time to spend with me," she mumbles. She thought it best not to anger him although she couldn't help feeling excited that she, in way, was doing something dangerous and rebellious. Her father would be flabbergasted if he ever knew what she was doing.

"So, what are you? A princess or something?" he asks.

"Something like that. If you'd excuse me, I just planned on going for a stroll through the woods...alone." she says, trying to get passed him. He instead stood right in front of her, blocking her path.

"I don't think so, love. You see, this is our forest and I'm supervising what you do." He says bending a bit so he was eye level with her. She avoided his eye contact as her eyes slowly caught a glimpse of a knife hidden under his cloak. Fear suddenly rose in her but she glanced back up at his eyes.

"Very well. If you think I'm going to burn down the forest, by all means tag along." she says, brushing passed him and slowly lifting the knife off him. She was terrified about her last action. This man had been pick-pocketing for a living and she'd never done it before. He'd surely notice. She had to keep her act up as she did when she was robbed, but better.

He, however didn't notice. He continued following her asking questions as she gave short answers. She was nowhere near close to trusting him. Besides, her mind was on the well. She couldn't find it though. And when she noticed the time of day, she headed off home to Granny to make breakfast. She'd try it tomorrow. Maybe today she could check to see if the Castle's library has anything about it...


End file.
